In an ideal world, we'd all have fantastic kitchens and dining rooms, with enough cabinet space and hidden storage for all the food, tools, and utensils one could ever need, all out of sight. But, most of us don't, and we're forced to leave some items out for view, particularly urban apartment dwellers.

If you're without an adequate home bar or liquor cabinet space, a great solution is the bar cart: a portable way to store your potables so you can bring them out when required, and stash in a corner when you don't. I see these worn out, but all metal bar carts at thrift stores and flea markets all the time, but I've always passed because of the dated faux-wood grain, or two many dings and dents.

Angela from Snag, a site dedicated to transforming found and vintage pieces, came up with a great way to give these secondhand pieces a facelift, subbing the fake 70s finish for a fresh coat of color you can customize to your home.

She provides techniques for cleaning and restoring the metal, plus getting a great coat of color with spray paint. The above makeover took less than two hours and $20 in materials, so if you come across one of these pieces (and you will, if you're looking), it's a no-brainer.